A new paleothermometer for forest paleosols and its implications for Cenozoic climate

Abstract

Research Article| June 01, 2013 A new paleothermometer for forest paleosols and its implications for Cenozoic climate Timothy M. Gallagher; Timothy M. Gallagher Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan, 2534 CC Little, 1100 N. University Avenue, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Nathan D. Sheldon Nathan D. Sheldon Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan, 2534 CC Little, 1100 N. University Avenue, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Timothy M. Gallagher Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan, 2534 CC Little, 1100 N. University Avenue, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA Nathan D. Sheldon Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan, 2534 CC Little, 1100 N. University Avenue, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 26 Sep 2012 Revision Received: 31 Dec 2012 Accepted: 10 Jan 2013 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 © 2013 Geological Society of America Geology (2013) 41 (6): 647–650. https://doi.org/10.1130/G34074.1 Article history Received: 26 Sep 2012 Revision Received: 31 Dec 2012 Accepted: 10 Jan 2013 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Timothy M. Gallagher, Nathan D. Sheldon; A new paleothermometer for forest paleosols and its implications for Cenozoic climate. Geology 2013;; 41 (6): 647–650. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G34074.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Climate is a primary control on the chemical composition of paleosols, making them a potentially extensive archive applicable to problems ranging from paleoclimate reconstruction to paleoaltimetry. However, the development of an effective, widely applicable paleosol temperature proxy has remained elusive. This is attributable to the fact that various soil orders behave differently due to their respective physical and chemical properties. Therefore, by focusing on an individual order or a subset of the 12 soil orders whose members exhibit similar process behavior, a better-constrained paleothermometer can be constructed. Soil chemistry data were compiled for 158 modern soils in order to derive a new paleosol paleothermometry relationship between mean annual temperature and a paleosol weathering index (PWI) that is based on the relative loss of major cations (Na, Mg, K, Ca) from soil B horizons. The new paleothermometer can be applied to clay-rich paleosols that originally formed under forest vegetation, including Inceptisols, Alfisols, and Ultisols, and halves the uncertainty relative to previous approaches. A case study using Cenozoic paleosols from Oregon (United States) shows that paleotemperatures produced with this new proxy compare favorably with paleobotanical temperature estimates. Global climatic events are also evident in the Oregon paleosol record, including a 2.8 °C drop across the Eocene-Oligocene transition comparable to marine records, and a Neogene peak temperature during the Mid-Miocene Climatic Optimum. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.